1.
SEPTEMBER 2012
3
Gamification
The Business
of Fun
Getting into the Flow
The Fun Way to Engage
Gaming Gamification
Global Snapshots
also
in this
issue Technology Trends
Trending Issues

2.
contents
Facts & Figures: We Love to Play.......................................4
Getting into the Flow........................................................................8
The Fun Way to Engage.............................................................12
Gaming Gamification....................................................................22
The Promise and the “Fine Print”...................................26
Global Snapshots...............................................................................32
BBVA & The Gamification........................................................37
Innovation Forecast...................................................................... 40
In Depth.......................................................................................................44
Sections........................................................................................................48
Technology Trends..................................................................48
Trending Issues..............................................................................52
Gamification & Banking event..........................................59
Innovation at BBVA........................................................................60
Credits............................................................................................................62
02 Innovation Edge

3.
“We love to play” Facts & Figures 18% of gamers are under
18 years of age
“Gaming is productive. It produces positive emotion, stronger social
relationship, a sense of accomplishment, and for players who are a
part of a game community, a chance to build a sense of purpose.”
Jane McGonigal, Institute of the Future (IFTF)
53%
Director of Game Research & Development
of gamers are between
18 to 49 years old
Ver video
The average age of a gamer
is 37 years old
70%
of senior level executives 72%
take breaks to play
games everyday of households
play computer
29% of gamers are over
50 years of age
or video games
58% of gamers
42% are women
are men
4 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 5

4.
47%
65% of gamers play
play Puzzle, Trivial, Board
Games and Card Games
21%
games socially
55% play Action, Strategy,
Sports and Role Playing
of gamers play
on mobile devices
13%
play Downloadable Games
33%
11%
of gamers say that
games is their favorite
entertainment activity
play Persistent Multi-Player
19% Universe
of gamers pay 8%
to play online Other types
Sources: Entertainment Software Association |
2011 Sales, Demographic and Usage Data, 2011
PSFK l The Future of Gaming, 2011
Jane McGonigal l Reality is Broken, 2011
6 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 7

5.
Fun is Found in the Flow
Getting into M ihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the leading re-
searcher on the topic of happiness, describes
flow as “being completely involved in an activity for
its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every
The experience of flow is often described as “a spon-
taneous joy while performing a task.” In the context
of sports, athletes sometimes talk about being in the
zone; “a state where the body and mind are in per-
the Flow
action, movement, and thought follows inevitably fect harmony, and movement becomes effortless.”
from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole Sources: Wired |has shown Go with the flow, 1996
being is involved, and you’re using your skills to http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.09/czik_pr.html
the utmost.” There are 8 major components com- Gartner | Maverick Investigación: Motivation, Momentum and
ponents of flow: Meaning: How Gamification Can Inspire Engagement. October 2011.
■■ A challenging activity requiring skill.
■■ A merging of action and awareness.
■■ Clear goals.
Managing the Flow
■■ Direct, immediate feedback. Research has shown that it normally took years, if not
■■ Concentration on the task at hand. decades, of learning the structure of an activity and
■■ A sense of control. strengthening the required skills and abilities to ex-
The experience of flow is often ■■ A loss of self-consciousness. perience flow. Otherwise, it required being immersed
described as “a spontaneous ■■ An altered sense of time. in a truly spectacular and unusual context. However
joy while performing a task.”
This concept of flow as the According to Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, people feel best when they
are at the perfect level of their skills: neither underchallenged (boredrom) nor
gateway to happiness is also overchallenged (anxiety and frustration). And, as people learn with time and
repetition, challenges have to increase to keep up with growing skills.
the basis of video games. Source: Google Tech Talk I Sebastian Deterding, 2011.
The video game industry
understands flow and has
accumulated much experience,
should we learn from this
ANXIETY
Difficulty
experience? FLOW
BOREDOM
Skill/Time
8 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 9

6.
with video games, one can go from zero to flow in 30 ■■ Health. Computer and video games serve as
seconds. The video game industry understands the useful tools to preserve well-being, heal the in-
concept of flow and has accumulated much experi- jured and train the professionals who respond
ence and knowledge harnessing the power of flow. to medical emergencies.
Source: Jane McGonigal | Reality is Broken.
■■ Social Issues. Nonprofit organizations and
issue advocates now view video games as an
Harnessing the Flow effective medium for communicating ideas and
generating support among young tech-savvy
As the generation
who grew up with
By having a shared vision, shared goals, and the consumers. video games enters
right processes, organizations can tap the power of and assumes
flow and channel it to drive motivation and change ■■ Workplace. As the generation that grew up leadership positions
in the workplace,
behaviors in group settings; ultimately helping peo- with video games enters and assumes leader-
computer and video
ple to become more productive and, perhaps even, ship positions in the workplace, computer and
games increasingly
happier. video games increasingly play a role in busi- play a role in
Source: Jane McGonigal | Reality is Broken ness operations. business operations.
Source: Entertainment Software
Association | Games: Improving What Matters
Flow Everywhere
Early versions of team based ballgames were played; such as Episkyros
In about 40 years, video games have transformed
from a diversion for the few into a mass medium,
Future of Flow
(in Greece) and Harpastum (Rome), which later gave rise to Shrovetide Football
during the Medieval ages (the forerunner to modern day “soccer”). helping people learn, work, and of course play. Research has discovered that “superstars” (high
According to the Entertainment Software Associa- achieving individuals) are found to have spent
tion, video games can be applied to: more than 10,000 hours of practice before the
age of twenty in their respective fields; and top
■■ Family Life. Games in the “family entertainment” performers (successful, but not superstars) have
category are one of the most popular segments spent about 8,000 hours.
of the video game market.
Thanks to video games, Digital Natives are expert
■■ Art. Galleries now feature game artwork in a problem solvers and collaborators by the age of
number of exhibits; and entertainment software 21 years (or at least in the virtual world). Typically,
serves as a new medium for emerging artists. they would have amassed well over 10,000 hours
of experience of resolving issues as a group.
■■ Economy. The video game industry is one of the When they enter into the workforce, they enter as
fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy, con- experts in collaborative problem solving. All they
tinuing to provide jobs to state and local econo- need is flow! v
mies across the nation. Source: Jane McGonigal | Reality is Broken
■■ Education. Entertainment software helps impart
In Egypt, a early board game played with dice was found as part knowledge, develop life skills and reinforce posi-
of a Backgammon set, dating back to 3,100 BC.
tive habits in students of all ages.
10 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 11

7.
The
Gamification is a process of using game
thinking and mechanics to engage users.
Fun Way
This concept can be applied to both
customer facing applications and employee
facing applications in the company’s
business model. Enterprise architects must
to Engage
be ready to manage a variety of “player
types” (achievers, socializers, explorers and
killers) and deployment scenarios.
12 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 13

8.
Gamification, Key Findings about ■■ Novelty and hype are driving the current success
of gamification.
What is it? Gamification ■■ Success doesn’t come easy. “During four decades
A s is the case for an emerging concept, defining the
term “correctly” is both challenging and elusive -
as it depends on who you talk to: platform providers,
■■ Gamificationis positioned to become a significant
trend over the next few years.
of video game development, many games have
failed despite their developers having the best
intentions”.
game designers, practitioners, industry observers, etc. ■■ Organizationsare increasingly turning to gami- Sources: Gartner | Gamification Primer: Life Becomes a Game, enero 2011.
fication to motivate changed behaviors, and Gartner | Maverick Research: Motivation, Momentum and Meaning: How
Gamification Can Inspire Engagement, October 2011.
Below, a Google Trends snapshot taken on April 2012 engage internal and external stakeholders. Gartner | Innovation Insight: Gamification Adds Fun and Innovation
shows the historical evolution of Gamification as a to Inspire Engagement, December 2011
search term. According to Gartner, “gamification has
emerged as a recognizable trend. Rarely does an
emerging trend impact so many areas of business/
Some formal definitions
society.”
Researcher and Game Designer
“The use of design elements from video games in non-game contexts to
make a product, service, or application more fun, engaging, motivating”
Source: Sebastian Deterding | Getting “Gamification” Right, January 2011
Gamification Platform Provider
“When used in a business context, gamification is the process of integrating game dynamics (and
game mechanics) into a website, business service, online community, content portal, or marketing
Evolution of the term “Gamification”
campaign in order to drive participation and engagement.”
in Google search Source: Bunchball | Gamification 101: An Introduction to the Use of Game Dynamics to Influence Behavior, October 2010
100 Practitioner (Gamification Industry)
Gamification is “the process of using game thinking and mechanics to
80
engage users.”
60
Source: Gabe Zichermann | Gamification: Innovation and the future, 2012
40
20
0
Industry Observer
Oct 10 Jan 11 Apr 11 Jul 11 Oct 11 Jan 12 Apr 12 MENU “Gamification uses game mechanics, such as challenges, rules, chance,
rewards and levels, to transform daily tasks into playful activities.”
Source: Gartner | Innovation Insight: Gamification Adds Fun and Innovation to Inspire
Engagement, December 2011
14 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 15

9.
Some examples of gamification “Games are the
New Normal”
During the Games for Change Festival, an event that apply gamification by 2015. Gamification is believed to
facilitates the creation and distribution of social im- innovate key processes which enhance value proposi-
MINT pact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian tions and maximize infrastructure efficiency. Whatever
Mint is a free service which can and educational efforts, Al Gore said that “The gami- the reason may be, it seems that everyone is express-
aggregate all financial accounts fication trend is really, extremely powerful… Games ing an interest in it, including BBVA.
into one place. Users can set a are the new ‘normal’ for hundreds of millions of users
budget, track goals and more. every month. It has been very exciting to me to see Once an obscure search term a short while ago,
so many ideas that integrate social good and efforts gamification has now leapt into Gartner’s Hype Cy-
Ver video to make the world a better place into games.” cle for Emerging Technologies 2011 — directly into
the Peak of Inflated Expectations. However, Gartner
The current expectation of Gamification is generating also warns their clients to be patient, as they believe
tremendous buzz everywhere. Gartner suggests that that gamification will not reach the Plateau of Pro-
more than 70% of the global 2000 businesses will ductivity for another 5 to 10 years.
Hype Cycle
MINDBLOOM Less than 2 years 2-5 years 5-10 years more than 10 years
Mindbloom is a “Life Game” which
improves the quality of life of the
players in a simple and effective way. Internet TV Private Cloud computing
Wireless power & Augmented Reality
Social Analytics
Ver video Group buying Cloud computing & Media tablets
Gamification Virtual Assistants
In-memory Database Management Systems
3D printing
Gesture recognition
Imagen, recognition...
Machine-to-Machine
Location-Aware
Mobile robots Communication services
Applications
“Big Data” Mesh Networks: Speech recognition
Sensor
Expectations
Biometric
Authentication
Speech recognition
Methods
Social TV Predictive Analytics
Cloud web
Video Analytics Platforms Mobile Application Stores
for customer service
NIKE Computer-Brain interface Hosted virtual
Idea management
desktops QR/color code
Quantum computing
Nike + FuelBand tracks users’ pro- Consumerization
Human Augmentation
gress throughout the day, providing 3D bioprinting
Virtual worlds E-book readers
real-time feedback visually.
Technology Peak of Trough of Slope of Enlightenment Plateau of
Ver video Trigger Inflated Disillusionment Productivity
Expectations
Time
Source: Gartner
16 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 17

10.
The Core Issue motivational design. For businesses, the arguments
proposed by game mechanics are stirring up excite-
of Gamification: a ment as the platform providers are backing up their
talk with great early results. Gamification is initially
Closer Look at Game proving that it’s engaging people.
Mechanics and Game Mechanics: Points,
Badges and Leaderboards
Intrinsic Motivation According to a leading gamification platform
provider, gamification works because game me-
The current discussion of gamification hinges on a chanics help to drive participation, engagement
lively debate between two sides: one camp focuses and loyalty on online properties, site or commu-
on game mechanics, such as points, badges, leader- nity. Game mechanics include points, levels, cha-
boards, and Incentives; and the other camp focuses llenges, virtual goods, score boards, and gifting
internal motivation, such as “Game Thinking” and & charity. In theory, game mechanics are directly
Human desires linked to human desires: reward, status, achieve- ■■ Meaning. Gamified applications have to con-
ment, self-expression, competition, and altruism. nect to something that is already meaningful to
Archieve- Self-
Reward Status Competition Altruism the user - or to wrap themselves in a story that
ment Expression
Although the early results are positive, Gartner makes them meaningful. “The general lesson
warns that gamification is currently driven by is that to be successful a gamified application
Points
novelty and hype. The technology research firm must provide something that is already mean-
suggests that the Plateau of Productivity won’t ingful to the user in its own right.”
Levels be reached for another 5 to 10 years. Businesses
need to figure out how best apply gamification ■■ Mastery. The experience of being competent,
in their business models. Towards that end, con- of achieving something... Video games don’t just
Games mechanics
Challenges sidering the inputs from game thinkers or moti- present goals. They ensure that a structured flow
vational designers may be beneficial. of nested goals pulls you through, from the long-
term goal (save world, rescue princess), to medi-
Virtual
Goods Intrinsic Motivation (or Game um-term (kill level boss-monster) and short-term
Thinking/Motivational Design) goals (collect five level coins). Wherever you are in
Score As a counterpoint to all the current game me- and whenever you return to a good game, there
Boards chanics buzz, Sebastian Deterding (researcher will always be one next goal that is just within
and game designer) offers his take on the whole reach.”
Gifftings & gamification thing. He advises that to be effective,
Charity gamification projects should include key elements ■■ Autonomy. A free space to play in and some-
from game thinking/design: meaning, mastery, thing to play with; providing “space” for explora-
and autonomy. tion and expression.
Primary desire a particular game mechanic fulfills Other areas that it affects Source: Sebastian Deterding | Getting “Gamification” Right
18 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 19

11.
Putting
Gamification to Work
“Where games traditionally model the real world, or- ■■ Goal. “The specific outcome that players will work ■■ Feedback system. “The feedback system goal, the rules, and the feedback. Knowingness esta-
ganizations must now take the opportunity for their to achieve. It focuses their attention and continually tells players how close they are to achie- blishes common ground for multiple people to play
real world to emulate games… enterprise architects orients their participation throughout the game.The ving the goal… Real-time feedback serves as a together.”
must be ready to contribute to gamification strategy goal provides player with a sense of purpose.” promise to the players that the goal is achie- Source: Jane McGonigal | Reality is Broken, 2011
formulation and should try at least one gaming ex- vable, and it provides motivation to keep playing.”
ercise as part of their enterprise context planning ■■ Rules. The “limitations on how players can achieve In addition, understanding player types and de-
efforts this year.” the goal. By removing or limiting the obvious ways of ■■ Voluntaryparticipation. “Everyone who is play- ployment scenarios can help organizations to think
getting to the goal, the rules push players to explore ing the game knowingly and willingly accepts the strategically about gamification and explore the best
All games, when reduced to their core, have four de- previously uncharted possibilities spaces. They un- application for the company’s business model. v
fining traits: leash creativity and foster strategic thinking.
Deployment Scenarios
(Brian Burke - Gartner)
Player Types
Gamification designers need to consider the desired results and behaviors
(Richard Bartle - Designing Virtual Worlds) when gamifying Key Processes for the organization.
The Player Types are four terms describing generalized behavior in a Multi-user virtual space:
Cooperative
Fishing boat
Players are motivated to maximize to
Burning Building
produce the highest possible overall Players are motivated to maximize the
score to maximize the team production, overall outcome and to maximize the im-
effectively creating a larger pie to be pact of game play.
split.
Killers Achievers Socialites Explorers
DEFINED BY DEFINED BY DEFINED BY DEFINED BY Extrinsic Intrinsic
A focus on winning, A focus on attaining A focus on socializing A focus on exploring
rank, and direct peer-to- status and achieving and drive to develop a and drive to
preset goals quickly network of friends and discover the
peer competition.
and/or completely.
Poker game
ENGAGED BY contacts. unknown.
Players are motivated to maximize their
Beauty Contest
Leaderboards, ranks. ENGAGED BY ENGAGED BY ENGAGED BY
own score to achieve a greater share of Players are motivated to maximize their
Achievements. Newsfeeds, Obfuscated
the rewards, increasing their personal individual results, usually to achieve a
friends list, chat. achievements.
worth, effectively taking a larger share of higher status.
the pie.
Source: http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm, http://frankcaron.com/Flogger/?p=1732 and
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SteveMallory/20120413/168507/Social_Gaming_and_the_Bartle_Archetypes.php Competitive
20 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 21

12.
“Organizations are using gamification internally to recruit,
train and enhance employee performance. They are using it
to drive innovation, share knowledge and improve employee
health. Gamification is also helping organizations engage
external stakeholders in customer loyalty, marketing,
education and innovation initiatives. The target audience
of gamification can be any defined group of stakeholders
(customers, employees or the Web collective).”
Source: Brian Burke, Gartner | Gamification Primer: Life Becomes a Game
Gaming
Gamification
We have some interesting data:
1. Business Application
Gamification helps companies to:
Increase User Engagement
Gamification is a hot topic today and
47%
Increase Brand Loyalty
everyone wants to play. Playing this game to
win requires the right strategies, tactics, and
22%
Increase Brand Awareness
moves. Currently, organizations are gaming
gamification to understand the possible
15%
Motivation
advantages, while avoiding potential pitfall
along the way. Can our hero make it to the
9%
Employee Training
next level?
Source: M2 Research 7%
22 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 23

13.
2. Gamification Platform client
Industry Breakdown
The early adopters of gamification come mostly
from entertainment and publishing industries, repre-
senting 60% of all companies. Financial companies
represented 6% of early adopters.
Gamification offers significant innovation opportuni-
ties for financial companies, especially for employee 4. Potential Market
facing applications. The breakdown of other indus- Spending on gamification is projected to grow from
tries are presented below: $100 million in 2011 to $2.8 billion dollars in 2016:
Entertainment 42% 2.000.000 $ 1,600,000
Publishers 18% 3. Growth of Gamification 1.500.000
Consumer Goods 15% $ 860,000
1.000.000
Healthcare/Wellness 10% $ 434,000
Financial 6% 500.000 $ 196,000
Retail 5%
2012 2013 2014 2015
Education 3%
Telecom 1%
Source: M2 Research
growth growth
in 2011 in 2012
155% 197%
24 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 25

14.
The
Promise
and the “Fine Print”
G amification, despite its name, is a se-
rious business opportunity and risk.
It may be the “secret sauce” to unlocking
value for the organization. Given that we
are early stages of this trend, it makes
sense that there are a lot of positive
news being generated at this moment
and there aren’t a whole lot of negative
stuff. Let’s take a look at the opportunities
and challenges of gamification.
When done “right”, gamification can To help clarify Gamification and to best apply it, CIBBVA
is thinking in business models. We are going to use the
offer new ways of engaging an eager Business Model Canvas to better understand the business
user base; and when done “wrong”, implications of gamification. For readers who may not be
familiar with the Business Model Canvas, a brief back-
it can estrange them. It’s the next grounder is provided.
“big thing” but each organization
“A business model describes the
needs to explore the opportunities
rationale of how an organization
and risks associated with it. But creates, delivers, and captures value.”
be warned… read the fine print:
A business model can be best described
“gamification is currently driven by through nine basic building blocks
novelty and hype” and filled with that show the logic of how a company
potential pitfalls. intends to make money. The business
model is like a blueprint for a strategy to
be implemented through organizational
structures, processes, and systems.
26 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 27

15.
Business
Opportunities
Based on early experiences and “guru talk,” it seems
clear that gamification presents opportunities for
both sides of company’s business model: both value
(the customer facing business units) and efficiency
(the employee/partner facing business units). More
exploration is needed to test its usefulness in specific
areas of business models, such as customer relation-
ships, channels, key activities, key partners, etc.
Key Partnerships Key Activities Value Propositions Customer Customer Segments
Relationships
Though a “wait and see” strategy to assessing busi-
ness opportunities seems prudent, it is evident that
Gamification offers
BUNDLING AS A VP.
gamification offers an immediate opportunity to
NEW PRODUCTS AND customers personalized,
Gamification is “bundled”
showcase BBVA’s innovation power (if done correctly).
SERVICES designed by “game automated, self-service
thinking.”Gamification can to existing products/ relationships, with a
become the process for services to enhance high component of co-
Business Risks building a comprehensive new the value proposition creation and community.
There are some concerns related to gamification. digital services platform. to customers.
Gartner advises clients that current gamification
BRANDING AS A VP. Channels
Gen X and Gen Y
applications is “motivated by the novelty of gami-
EMPLOYEE
Key Resources customers. These CSs
fication. This will wear off as user fatigue sets in Good gamification
BEHAVIOR
are already familiar
an the sustainability of engagement becomes an deployments can
IMPROVEMENT.
with game dynamics
issue.” Gamification from a business point of view increase the value of
Surveys suggest and mechanics.
has some perceived risks, as it is almost impossi-
a company’s brand.
ble to separate the wheat from the chaff. However low employee Gamification may help
done
there are some significant threats that should be engagement. Gamification, when to attract and engage
customer
addressed:
Gamification can “right,” can increase new customers.
t
make work “fun.” “stickiness” at almos
every channel phase.
■■ Totally green (as in not mature). “Both in success-
ful models to emulate and in a shortage of people
who understand game design. Game design ex-
perience has not intersected with typical business Cost Structure Revenue Streams
functions, not even IT”.
■■ Blockbuster game don’t happen that often, and
probably less with gamification. “Trying to add fun
to an activity that has another purpose is more
difficult still. One fact that does seem clear is that
28 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 29

16.
simply adding points, badges and leader boards is
not going to make engaging with an organization
more fun”.
■■ No “one size fits all” with gamification. Different
people play different games for different reasons.
“While gamifying some activity may engage part
of the stakeholders, it is not likely to appeal to all
stakeholders.
■■ Does it make sense for us? “In many corporate
environments, the very notion of building ‘fun’ into
Key Partnerships Key Activities Value Propositions Customer Customer Segments
any activity will be a nonstarter. The idea of ‘fun’ can
Relationships
seem very trivializing/superficial/no what grown-
ups do. Selling gamification in these organizations
Companies risk taking
will be very difficult”.
Gamification is more of a customers on unnecessary
process than a product. journeys, distracting them
■■ Unexpected consequences. “Turning an acti-
User engagement must be from the main purpose
vity in a game invites players to try to ‘game the
built in at the product/ of giving them what
system’ and may result in unintended conse-
quences”. service development level. they actually want.
More time is needed to better identify the risks
associated with gamification. As the technology Channels
Key Resources
enters Trough of Disillusionment in Gartner’s Hype
Cycle, the negative version of the fairytale will
? Data
Who owns the data
soon materialize and begin to dominate as some
Trial and Error is ility
ownership/responsib
companies will painfully learn that all that glitters
part of the learning sed and for
isn’t gold. The golden child might look more like a
needs to be addres
curve. Don’t put on mpanies,
whipping boy. v
financial services co
the ROI hat … t.
this may be difficul
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
30 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 31

17.
Around the world, companies
and organizations are seriously
experimenting with gamification.
Whether playing a lottery with the
speed limit or learning about real
estate investments, gamification
projects are capturing the
imagination of people.
Global
32
Snapshots September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 33

18.
Volkswagen (Fun Theory)
er
C ustom Speed Camera Lottery “Can we get more people
g
Facin ion
to obey the speed limit by making it fun to do? (The
at idea) was so good that Volkswagen, together with
Gamific ts The Swedish National Society for Road Safety, ac- SAP
c
Proje tually made this innovative idea a reality in Stock- Sustainability Quiz The idea was to make beha-
holm, Sweden. The average speed of cars passing vioral change fun and inform employees about the
the camera dropped from 32km/h before the experi- success of SAP’s sustainability efforts and what steps
ment to 25km/h after.” (Wired).
oyee they can take themselves. In less than a month over
Empl g one thousand colleagues played the game, many of
Facin ion
Ver video
Microsoft them repeatedly.
ficat
Gami
RibbonHero is an application that encourages MS Walking up the Piano Stairs “Can we get more peo-
Office users to learn more about the different fea- ple to take the stairs over the escalator by making it SAP Community Networks (SCN) “The SCN is
tures by watching videos and taking short exams. fun to do?” The project led to an increase of 66% in also a good example to introduce you to a couple
the use of the piano stairs. of game mechanics. Points (as “points points”, but
Codeacademy Ver video also views of your articles/blogs), leaderboards (list
Codecademy is a web-based, interactive platform, of top contributors, but also exposure of you arti-
where players can learn to code and are rewarded Recycling is Fun At Bottle Bank Arcade recycling cle on the main SDN page), status (mentor badge,
with points and badges. The players get encouraging was turned into a fun activity. Siemens gold/silver/bronze medal), social interaction (dis-
real-time feedback on progress bars and can connect Ver video A visual, FarmVille-style game that allows players to cussions, meetups).”
with their friends and compete against them. learn the connections of each part of the plant and
manufacturing process. Deloitte
Ver video “Consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.,
are incorporating elements of videogames into the
IBM workplace. They’re deploying reward and competi-
ing INNOV8, the IBM Business Process Management tive tactics commonly found in the gaming world
m er Fac . Barclays
Custo ification
(BPM) simulation game, gives both IT and business to make tasks such as management training, data
56 Sage Street. A portal to help teach about mo- players a better understanding of how effective BPM entry and brainstorming seem less like work.”
Gam cts in ney, finance, and banking in an enjoyable way. impacts an entire business ecosystem.
Proje ial Salesforce
c
Finan es Bank of America Google Salesforce Motivation motivates professionals us-
c
Servi Bad Credit Hotel (in collaboration for the US De-
partment of Treasury). Learn about debt manage-
Google employees get a per diem amount for busi-
ness trips depending on the destinations. If they
ing proven techniques that sales managers have
always used: team competitions, leaderboards, and
ment, credit history, and credit scores. are above the limit, they submit the receipt and get rewards. But instead of tracking and managing those
reimbursed. If they are below the per diem, they programs manually, companies can use cloud-based
Commonwealth Bank can use it to save it towards another business trips applications to “automate” tasks so that the team
Investorville is a virtual world where one can try (which would have had no budget) or upgrade 1st stays focused on the activities and rewards that are
his/her luck at investing in rental property without class. Compliance with the process has shot up to critical.
the risk of buying one. over 90%.
34 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 35

19.
BBVA & the
Gamification
Platform Providers
gamification
For organizations who are considering off the shelf Cynergy
solutions, platform providers are offering turnkey so- According to Cynergy, “We make incredible experi-
lutions for gamification. Below, we present some of ences happen—no easy task. Great design is criti-
the leading vendors: cal, but incredible experiences are much more than
just pixels—they require the artful merging of expert
Bunchball strategy, design excellence and cutting-edge tech-
Bunchball offers the Nitro gamification platform, and nology, delivered by a single, integrated team. That’s
its analytics solution, to create customized, action- our formula—that’s how we make incredible experi-
able and scalable user experiences for consumers, ences happen.”
With BBVA Game we have
employees and partners. Nitro is a scalable and launched an important Beta
reliable gamification platform, managing over 125 IActionable
million users and tracking over 15 Billion actions to IActionable is a web based (SaaS) gamification project, wich we want to create
date. Founded in 2005, Bunchball’s investors include software platform that applies game mechanics an space of interaction with our
Granite Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Northport to non-game applications. IActionable can be used
Investments, Correlation Ventures, and Adobe Sys- to change user interface and user experience and on line clients.
tems Incorporated. drive behavior in the form of participation and en-
gagement. v
Badgeville
Founded in 2010, Badgeville draws on techniques
from social gaming, traditional loyalty programs and Other notable
social networking in its suite of Behavior Lifecycle companies
Management solutions. Built on database techno-
include:
logy, Badgeville’s PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) is de-
signed to connect user reputation across all of your ■■ Bigdoor
digital touch points. Badgeville is funded by Norwest ■■ Crowd Twist
Venture Partners, El Dorado Ventures, Trinity Ven- ■■ Get Glue
tures and the Webb Investment Network. ■■ Playgen
■■ SCVNGR
Crowdtap
Crowdtap is the Influencer Marketing platform, ena-
bling leading brands to easily identify, activate and
manage their influential consumers for real-time
insights and powerful online and offline peer-to-peer
marketing. Crowdtap intends to shift marketing to
a fully collaborative and participatory process be-
tween brands and consumers.
36 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 37

20.
“Companies around the world W e understand that to generate a fun dialog
with our clients is a challenge. Most online us-
What we do know is that we can use gamification to
get know know our customers better, to get closer
are leveraging game mechanics ers access our site to check positions and perform to them in an refreshing way, to educate them, to be
to engage customers, and transactions. Without a doubt, it’s quite a challenge “sticky,” and, of course, we can apply this model in
all countries in which we have presence. Like BBVA,
financial services companies are BBVA Game, a gamification platform, has incorpo- the concept of gamification is universal.
no exception. This trend is called rated game dynamics as a way to provide additional
value for online banking customers. We put together All the team members in various teams who par-
gamification, and while it being
our best value proposition, loyalty programs, and ticipated in bringing BBVA Game to life (Marketing
used in many different ways, game dynamics which offer the most fun. We wanted and Innovation & Technology) shared one thing in
the sweet spot is in engaging to work in teams to create a game that educates our common: We had fun. And that is a good sign. v
clients, offers stickiness to our clients, and offer cross-
customers. As an early adopter selling and upselling opportunities for our business.
of gamification in the financial We will not really know the final results until we learn Bernardo Crespo,
services industry, BBVA joins from our customers; any other pretense would be Head of Digital Marketing and Marketing Lab,
rather arrogant. BBVA Spain and Portugal.
a small group of innovators
that are turning customers
into players and banking into
a game. The BBVA Game is a
leading edge example of using
gamification to both engage
customers in a fun way while
architecting the customer
journey. Gamification is a win-win
for BBVA and its customers.”
Brian Burke
38 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 39

21.
Innovation
Forecast
Gamification Tips
from the Pros
The early results are in. Bunchball, a pure gamification platform provider, see Sebastian Deterding ■■ Prototype, Playtest, and Iterate. The Sources: Sebastian
Deterding. Getting Gamifi-
their customers enjoy the benefits value creation aspects of gamification: Game designer core of game design is to build a func-
cation Right, January 2011
“The most important thing to keep in tional prototype of the rule system as | Sebastian Deterding
■■ An increase of 2x page view. Though the results display initial deploy- mind here is that any good design — early as possible to test whether it is Don’t Play Games with
Me! Pitfalls of Gameful
■■ Page view per visit increased 60%. ments numbers, it’s clear what should game or software — hinges on good any fun, tweak it based on the test re- Design, May 2011
■■ Unique visitors increased 30%. be done with gamification for the short- designers and design process, not on sults, test it again, etc., to iterate your
■■ Increase of 100% on time on site. term future: Just Play! See how gamifica- features.” way toward something that is fun and
■■ An increase of 2x repeat monthly visits. tion can create or capture value for the engaging.
■■ 400% ROI (with payback time of as organization. ■■ Know your users. What motivates
little as 3 months). them? What is meaningful to them? ■■ Bring in the Data. Quantitative
To wrap things up, we leave you with What keeps them from following analytics will tell you whether your
some “Gamification Tips from the Pros,” through on their intentions? What point systems don’t have loopholes
hoping that they may help you better kind of games to they like? What kind or exploits, or whether you balanced
understand this key topic and, perhaps, of community do they prefer? Without the difficulty of the goals and mis-
even help spark some new innovations user research to figure these things sions you present to the players.
in the organization. out, you will miss your target audience.
“Reality ultimately is much more messy,
■■ Read the Rules. Goals and rules create complex, random, unfair and beyond
interesting challenges, even can create our control than games.”
meta-games.
40 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 41

22.
Brian Burke, Gartner Gabe Zichermann views by over 130% and
Technology analyst Gamification expert return visits by 40%.
“The goal is to inspire deeper, more en- “The initial findings from gamification The resulting rise in
gaged relationships and to motivate specialists are nothing short of astonish- engagement has gener-
changed behaviors. Many organizations ing. Regardless of your business model, ated substantial revenue
report significantly higher engagement the following seven gamified innovations for the company, bringing
with gamification. But risks abound, and should inspire you to strategize via game registered user counts from
organizations should consider their de- analysis.” 400,000 to nearly 3 million since
ployment strategies carefully. the launch of the gamified version.
■■ Make a market (Foursquare) Four-
■■ Gamificationis a business issue that square proved that location-based ■■ Make research & evangelism count
is enabled by technology — business networking wasn’t doomed to fail, that (Crowdtap). Through the use of gami-
managers must take the lead in dri- simple game mechanics can affect fied, virtual rewards, the company has
ving gamification efforts. behavior, and that you can engage 10 been able to raise average user par-
million customers — all while raising ticipation by 2.5 times, thus reducing
■■ The application of gamification is very $50 million. research costs by 80% or more for key
diverse. Focusing on specific goals is clients.
critical to success. ■■ Get fit (NextJump).
By leveraging the
power of gamification, 70% of Next- ■■ Save the planet (RecycleBank).
■■ Avoid the herd mentality — don’t imple- Jump employees exercise regularly — RecycleBank utilized game mecha-
ment a copycat application. Most cur- enough to save the company millions nics such as points, challenges and
rent gamified applications are doomed in work attendance and insurance rewards to drive breakthroughs. The
to fail. costs over the medium term — all the project has seen a 16% increase in re-
while making the workplace healthier cycling in Philadelphia, where the recy-
■■ Design gamified applications that co- and happier. cling rate has broken 20% for the first
rrectly position motivation, momen- time in history.
tum and meaning (M3) to inspire en- ■■ Slow down and smell the money
gagement with the audience. (Volkswagen - Fun Theory). Speed ■■ Make teaching fun (Ananth Pai)
Camera Lottery idea rewards those grouped students by learning style,
■■ Exploitthis trend today if you work in drivers who obey the posted limit by and retooled the curriculum to make
an organization that is willing to take entering them into a lottery. When test- use of off-the-shelf games to teach
risks. But remember that careful plan- ed at a checkpoint in Stockholm, aver- reading, math and other subjects. In
Sources: Gartner | Gamification Primer: Life Becomes a ning and improvement through itera- age driver speed was reduced by 20%. the space of 18 weeks, Mr. Pai’s class
Game, January 2011
tion are central to every successful im- went from below third grade average Source: Gabe Zicher-
Gartner | Maverick Research: Motivation, Momentum and
mann | Mashable - 7 Win-
Meaning: How Gamification Can Inspire Engagement, plementation of gamification. ■■ Generate ad revenues (Psych & NBC/ reading and math levels to mid-fourth
ning Examples of Game
October 2011 Universal). Club Psych implemented grade. v Mechanics in Action
Gartner | Innovation Insight: Gamification Adds Fun and
Innovation to Inspire Engagement, December 2011 gamified incentives to raise page
42 September 2012 | GAMIFICATION 43